II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1566 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand eligibility for mental 

health services from the Department of Veterans Affairs to include members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 13, 2017 

Mr. TESTER (for himself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MANCHIN, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. 

BALDWIN, Mr. FRANKEN, and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand eligibility 

for mental health services from the Department of Veterans Affairs to include members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Care And Readiness 

5 Enhancement for Reservists Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘CARE 

6 for Reservists Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR READJUSTMENT 

2 COUNSELING AND RELATED OUTPATIENT 

3 SERVICES FROM DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

4 AFFAIRS TO INCLUDE MEMBERS OF THE RE5 SERVE COMPONENTS OF THE ARMED 

6 FORCES. 

7 (a) READJUSTMENT COUNSELING.—Subsection 

8 (a)(1) of section 1712A of title 38, United States Code, 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(D)(i) The Secretary, in consultation with the Sec12 retary of Defense, may furnish to any member of the re13 serve components of the Armed Forces who has a behav14 ioral health condition or psychological trauma, counseling 

15 under subparagraph (A)(i), which may include a com16 prehensive individual assessment under subparagraph 

17 (B)(i). 

18 ‘‘(ii) A member of the reserve components of the 

19 Armed Forces described in clause (i) shall not be required 

20 to obtain a referral before being furnished counseling or 

21 an assessment under this subparagraph.’’. 

22 (b) OUTPATIENT SERVICES.—Subsection (b) of such 

23 section is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘to an individual’’ after 

2 ‘‘If, on the basis of the assessment furnished’’; 

3 and 

4 (B) by striking veteran each place it ap5 pears and inserting ‘‘individual’’; and 

6 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘veteran’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘individual’’. 

8 (c) STAFFING AND RESOURCES OF THE DEPART9 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.— 

10 (1) VET CENTERS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—In order to properly 

12 plan for any expansion of services provided as 

13 a result of the amendments made by sub14 sections (a) and (b), the Secretary of Veterans 

15 Affairs shall evaluate current and future work16 load under section 1712A of title 38, United 

17 States Code, as amended by subsections (a) and 

18 (b), to determine whether more Vet Centers, in19 cluding mobile Vet Centers, are needed to han20 dle such expansion. 

21 (B) DISCUSSIONS REGARDING MEMORANDA

22 OF UNDERSTANDING.—If, at a Vet Center, 

23 workload treating members of the Armed 

24 Forces exceeds workload treating veterans, the 

25 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enter into 


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1 discussions with the Secretary of Defense to de2 termine whether a reimbursable memorandum 

3 of understanding between the Department of 

4 Veterans Affairs and the Department of De5 fense is warranted with respect to services pro6 vided at that Vet Center. 

7 (C) REPORT.—Not later than one year 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

9 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to 

10 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the Com11 mittee on Armed Services, and the Committee 

12 on Appropriations of the Senate and the Com13 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs, the Committee on 

14 Armed Services, and the Committee on Appro15 priations of the House of Representatives a re16 port on— 

17 (i) the evaluation conducted under 

18 subparagraph (A); and 

19 (ii) any discussions between the Sec20 retary of Veterans Affairs and the Sec21 retary of Defense under subparagraph (B). 

22 (2) READJUSTMENT COUNSELING SERVICE.— 

23 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that 

24 the Chief Officer of the Readjustment Counseling 

25 Service of the Veterans Health Administration has 


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1 such staff, resources, and access to information as 

2 may be necessary to carry out the expansion of serv3 ices resulting from the amendments made by sub4 sections (a) and (b). 

5 (3) VET CENTER DEFINED.—In this subsection, 

6 the term ‘‘Vet Center’’ has the meaning given that 

7 term in section 1712A(h) of title 38, United States 

8 Code. 

9 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on the date that 

11 is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 3. PROVISION OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FROM 

13 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO 

14 MEMBERS OF THE RESERVE COMPONENTS 

15 OF THE ARMED FORCES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter VIII of chapter 17 of 

17 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

18 end the following new section: 

19 ‘‘§ 1788. Mental health services for members of the re20 serve components of the Armed Forces 

21 ‘‘The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

22 Defense, may furnish mental health services to members 

23 of the reserve components of the Armed Forces.’’. 

24 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

25 at the beginning of chapter 17 of such title is amended 


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1 by inserting after the item relating to section 1787 the 

2 following new item: 

‘‘1788. Mental health services for members of the reserve components of the 

Armed Forces.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. INCLUSION OF MEMBERS OF RESERVE COMPO4 NENTS IN MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS OF 

5 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

6 (a) SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAM.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1720F of title 38, 

8 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(l)(1) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In this 

11 section, the term ‘covered individual’ means a veteran or 

12 a member of the reserve components of the Armed Forces. 

13 ‘‘(2) In determining coverage of members of the re14 serve components of the Armed Forces under the com15 prehensive program, the Secretary shall consult with the 

16 Secretary of Defense.’’. 

17 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such section 

18 is further amended— 

19 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘vet20 erans’’ and inserting ‘‘covered individuals’’; 

21 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘vet22 erans’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘cov23 ered individuals’’; 

24 (C) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (i) in the subsection heading, by strik2 ing ‘‘OF VETERANS’’; 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘veterans’’ each place 

4 it appears and inserting ‘‘covered individ5 uals’’; and 

6 (iii) by striking ‘‘veteran’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘individual’’; 

8 (D) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘to vet9 erans’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘to 

10 covered individuals’’; 

11 (E) in subsection (e), in the matter pre12 ceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘veterans’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘covered individuals’’; 

14 (F) in subsection (f)— 

15 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

16 ‘‘veterans’’ and inserting ‘‘covered individ17 uals’’; and 

18 (ii) in the second sentence, by insert19 ing ‘‘or members’’ after ‘‘veterans’’; 

20 (G) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘vet21 erans’’ and inserting ‘‘covered individuals’’; 

22 (H) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘vet23 erans’’ and inserting ‘‘covered individuals’’; 

24 (I) in subsection (i)— 


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1 (i) in the subsection heading, by strik2 ing ‘‘FOR VETERANS AND FAMILIES’’; 

3 (ii) in the matter preceding paragraph 

4 (1), by striking ‘‘veterans and the families 

5 of veterans’’ and inserting ‘‘covered indi6 viduals and the families of covered individ7 uals’’; 

8 (iii) in paragraph (2), by striking 

9 ‘‘veterans’’ and inserting ‘‘covered individ10 uals’’; and 

11 (iv) in paragraph (4), by striking 

12 ‘‘veterans’’ each place it appears and in13 serting ‘‘covered individuals’’; 

14 (J) in subsection (j)(1), by striking ‘‘vet15 erans’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘cov16 ered individuals’’; and 

17 (K) in subsection (k), by striking ‘‘vet18 erans’’ and inserting ‘‘covered individuals’’. 

19 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Such section is further 

21 amended, in the section heading, by inserting 

22 ‘‘AND MEMBERS OF THE RESERVE COMPO23 NENTS OF THE ARMED FORCES’’ after 

24 ‘‘VETERANS’’. 


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1 (B) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of 

2 sections at the beginning of chapter 17 of such 

3 title is amended by striking the item relating to 

4 section 1720F and inserting the following new 

5 item: 

‘‘1720F. Comprehensive program for suicide prevention among veterans and 

members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces.’’. 

6 (b) MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT FOR INDIVIDUALS

7 WHO SERVED IN CLASSIFIED MISSIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1720H of such title 

9 is amended— 

10 (A) in subsection (a)— 

11 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

12 (I) by striking ‘‘eligible veteran’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘eligible individual’’; 

14 and 

15 (II) by striking ‘‘the veteran’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘the individual’’; 

17 (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘eli18 gible veterans’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible indi19 viduals’’; 

20 (B) in subsection (b)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘a veteran’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘an individual’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘eligible veteran’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘eligible individual’’; and 


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1 (C) in subsection (c)— 

2 (i) in paragraph (2), in the matter 

3 preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 

4 ‘‘The term ‘eligible veteran’ means a vet5 eran’’ and inserting ‘‘The term ‘eligible in6 dividual’ means a veteran or a member of 

7 the reserve components of the Armed 

8 Forces’’; and 

9 (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘eli10 gible veteran’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible indi11 vidual’’. 

12 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Such section is further 

14 amended, in the section heading, by inserting 

15 ‘‘AND MEMBERS OF THE RESERVE COMPO16 NENTS OF THE ARMED FORCES’’ after 

17 ‘‘VETERANS’’. 

18 (B) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of 

19 sections at the beginning of chapter 17 of such 

20 title is amended by striking the item relating to 

21 section 1720H and inserting the following new 

22 item: 

‘‘1720H. Mental health treatment for veterans and members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces who served in classified missions.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORT ON MENTAL HEALTH AND RELATED SERV2 ICES PROVIDED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF 

3 VETERANS AFFAIRS TO MEMBERS OF THE 

4 ARMED FORCES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet7 erans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 

8 Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Sen9 ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Com10 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

11 a report that includes an assessment of the following: 

12 (1) The increase, as compared to the day before 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, of the number 

14 of members of the Armed Forces that use readjust15 ment counseling or outpatient mental health care 

16 from the Department of Veterans Affairs, 

17 disaggregated by State, Vet Center location, and 

18 clinical care site of the Department, as appropriate. 

19 (2) The number of members of the reserve com20 ponent of the Armed Forces receiving telemental 

21 health care from the Department. 

22 (3) The increase, as compared to the day before 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, of the annual 

24 cost associated with readjustment counseling and 

25 outpatient mental health care provided by the DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Jul 22, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1566.IS S1566

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1 partment to members of the reserve components of 

2 the Armed Forces. 

3 (4) The changes, as compared to the day before 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act, in staffing, 

5 training, organization, and resources required for 

6 the Department to offer readjustment counseling 

7 and outpatient mental health care to members of the 

8 reserve components of the Armed Forces. 

9 (5) Any challenges the Department has encoun10 tered in providing readjustment counseling and out11 patient mental health care to members of the reserve 

12 components of the Armed Forces. 

13 (b) VET CENTER DEFINED.—In this section, the 

14 term ‘‘Vet Center’’ has the meaning given that term in 

15 section 1712A(h) of title 38, United States Code. 

Æ 


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